We Are Undefeatable in Blackburn with Darwen campaign storytellers, the people who shared their stories about how being active helps them manage their health conditions, were treated to an afternoon tea style ‘Celebration event’ at Blackburn Rovers’ Wellbeing Hub on 26th February.
The event was an opportunity for representatives from Together an Active Future, Blackburn with Darwen Council, Active BwD and the national We Are Undefeatable campaign team to inform storytellers how their stories have been shared locally and nationally, the impact they have had so far and importantly thank them for their involvement.
We Are Undefeatable is a national campaign led by 15 leading health and social care charities, backed by National Lottery funding through Sport England which aims to inspire people living with long-term health conditions to be more active and help them improve their overall health and wellbeing.
During the summer and autumn of 2024, the campaign involving sixteen local residents being active in a range of different ways, featured prominently on bus shelters, digital screens in the town centre, on social media, on posters in healthcare settings and council-owned buildings, and in printed publications.
Watch our 2 minute overview from the storytellers here: https://youtu.be/7h-TZIoXc7A
Storytellers were proud to share how they felt about being involved in the campaign:
“This campaign has been very motivational and inspiring. I’ve loved being inspired by the other storytellers, we can feel alone sometimes, this campaign has showed me that I’m not!”
“It’s been an honour being part of it.”
“I feel valued as a storyteller and finally feel understood. After years I have finally been able to explain what I do being the scenes to manage my breast cancer.”
Evaluation of the campaign is underway, and initial findings show that it has reached tens of thousands of people in Blackburn with Darwen, with 1 in 2 residents feeling inspired to take action as a result of seeing the campaign.
The public reaction to the campaign has been very positive with 9 in 10 stating that it shows people living with long term health conditions can be active, and that it shows how moving more can enable people to enjoy more in life. Almost half of residents surveyed took action as a result of seeing the campaign, including starting on their physical activity journey, increasing their activity levels, speaking to others about being more active, and reaching out to local providers for more support.
Peter Dutton, National Activation Manager for the We Are Undefeatable campaign, said:
“It’s been a fantastic journey localising We Are Undefeatable in Blackburn with Darwen, and it’s important that we stop to celebrate the impact and achievements to date, alongside campaign storytellers and many local partners involved. The campaign has been well-recognised across the borough. It has provided positive physical activity messaging and imagery for people living with health conditions, and has inspired people to take action as a result.
This campaign has received both local and national recognition, with Blackburn with Darwen leading the way as a trailblazer. The campaign has provided rich learning to date, and the best practice that has been unearthed is already influencing other places and organisations to take similar approaches across England.”
Read more about the campaign here: https://taaf.co.uk/workstreams/we-are-undefeatable/
or watch our webinar here:
